The novel coronavirus pandemic has been wreaking havoc all over the globe and is now engulfing South Asia including India, Bangladesh and Pakistan in its vile grip. As a result, many public personalities across the world have been coming forward to do their bit to help the fightback. Cricket is not untouched with the most recent example coming out of Bangladesh where 27 premier cricketers including the likes of ODI captain Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahim have decided to donate half of their monthly salaries to help fight the Covid-19 disaster.
A total of 31 lakh Bangladesh Takas including tax deductions will be pooled from the players’ salaries, as confirmed by Bangladesh Cricket Board’s (BCB) cricket operations and national team manager Sabbir on Wednesday.
Earlier, Iqbal released a joint statement of the players declaring their intention.
“…The outbreak of coronavirus is also increasing in Bangladesh. We, the cricketers, are trying to aware people in social media to take necessary steps to prevent this pandemic…we are 27 cricketers giving half of our monthly salaries to help against coronavirus. After excluding the tax the amount might be approximately 25 lakh around,” read the joint statement shared by Iqbal.
Tamim also urged the populace to be responsible and stay at home in order to survive the pandemic.
“… If we can take the responsibilities and try to make contributions wholeheartedly rather than criticizing others, then we can win the war against coronavirus. Everyone, please stay home, stay safe. Be well and keep our country safe.”
Meanwhile, former Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi has also earned praise from all quarters, including his yesteryear on-field rival Harbhajan Singh for donating disinfectant soap, material and food to the needy in his country.
